As I wrote earlier, I'm going to attempt to root against my favourite hockey team for the first time in my life. In this entry I'll provide updates throughout the night as I fight what seems natural. It's 7:13pm...
7:17pm - The kids are sitting with me. They're chanting "Go Leafs Go". When Stajan had that breakaway, it upset me he didn't score. So far I'm finding it impossible to cheer for the Bruins.
7:19pm - When Murray scored for Boston, all three of us were sincerely unhappy. This unhappiness was immediately followed by a calming sensation as if everything was going to be alright.
7:26pm - Ok, clearly I'm rooting for the Leafs. I cheered loudly when we scored. Moore has been a nice surprise for this team.
7:33pm - There's a significant difference between rooting against your team and being okay with a loss by your team. I'm not that guy. I can't actually root for the opposition and root against the Leafs, but I'm no longer upset or unhappy when we fail to climb in the standings. That's the difference.
7:40pm - As I watch #13 I wonder if he'll agree to be traded. My hunch is that he won't. He's loyal to a fault and his character suggests he'd rather go down with the ship than jump. Uncle Cliffy once stunned us with a blockbuster to bring him to Toronto but I don't think he'll be able to ship him out in the same fashion. Heck, he might end up extending Sundin's contract instead.
7:52pm - Coach's Corner still entertains me. Don just made an interesting point about our failure to draft CHL players. He compared our roster to the Canadian-heavy Ducks and reminded us how many CHL teams play in the GTA. By the way, when Don said he roots for the Leafs, Michelle looked up at me all excitedly and said "he roots for the Leafs, too!".
8:06pm - I flipped over to TSN because I want to watch the slam dunk competition. Does anyone know exactly what time the slam dunk part starts?
8:13pm - Am I the only guy left in the first world without picture-in-picture? I'm flipping back and forth between 6 and 30 like a fool here. The NBA thing has some band playing when I'm looking for Apollo 33. The Leafs, meanwhile, have a 2-man advantage. Go Leafs Go!
8:24pm - They just showed an update from the Sens game. New Jersey leads 3-0. I love it when the Senators lose.
8:30pm - Bruins score... oh darn. (*cough* Steve Stamkos *cough*) Watching Shawn Thornton got me thinking about former Leaf Scott Thornton who is both a cousin of Joe Thornton and still active with the Kings. I'm spending the 2nd intermission with the NBA.
8:36pm - I just Googled Shawn Thornton. It turns out he was a Maple Leaf prospect before we traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks for Marty Wilford. Wilford never played a game in the NHL but Thornton has a Stanley Cup ring and three points in his last two games. The Shooting Stars event is boring me to tears.
8:55pm - Vesa Toskala is a pretty sharp goalie. Is Andrew Raycroft still on this team? If anyone wants proof we're not throwing these games they just need to look at the fact we don't play Raycroft anymore. I'm old enough to remember a bit of a controversy at the beginning of the year as to who was the #1. Let me just close this little update with I told ya so!
9:11pm - This is shaping up to be another perfect game: good effort, close game, Leafs loss. This purpose of this live blogging was to document how it felt to root against the team I've loved for as long as I can remember. It didn't take long for me to realize that I can't actually root against the Leafs. I want Steve Stamkos as much as the next Leaf fan, but I'll follow advice left in the comments and remain apathetic about Leafs losses. It's just easier that way.
9:16pm - Now Tucker decides to score. Nice pass from Mats... There's plenty of time to let this one slip away, although we're still on the PP...
9:19pm - Now Tucker's setting up Antropov to give us the lead. Heck, let's play spoiler and beat these Bruins. Stamkos, Schamkos.
9:24pm - In any other season, I'd be so pissed right now. Chara scored with the Bruins goailie out and we're likely looking at overtime. Prior to Chara's goal, CBC put up a graphic about Antropov hitting 20 goals for the first season in his career. I would have bet a great deal of money against Antropov ever scoring 20 goals in a season.
9:32pm - Leafs win! Leafs win! I'm guessing Darcy Tucker ate his Cheerios today. With 11 days remaining before deadline day, I'm wondering what this team will look like two Saturdays from now. Will Tucker be a Leaf? Will Antropov? That's it for me, it's been fun but I'm going to flip over to the craptacular NBA stuff.
Lessons Learned: Fandom is part of you. You can't just turn a switch after 33 years. I will forever cheer for Leaf victories, for better or for worse.
